For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Bayer’s consumer-facing brand WOMEN | Bayer and VML Health are highlighting a movement that lives at the intersection of science, women’s health and communication.
The campaign – ‘Anything but Normal’ – challenges decades of conditioning around what’s considered ‘normal’ in women’s health. Its starting point is stark: over 1.5 billion women worldwide – almost one in two women – experience women’s health issues, yet are often told to ‘get on with it’, with symptoms brushed off as something they should simply accept.
The campaign repositions what is perceived as ‘normal’ in women’s health to support WOMEN | Bayer’s core message: ‘If it’s holding you back, it’s anything but normal.’ The campaign seeks to reset both social and clinical expectations around what women should tolerate.
The campaign film tells five common stories following the lives of five women, each facing a different, widespread issue impacting women’s health:
- Menstrual abdominal pain
- Unwanted pregnancy
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Perimenopause
- Menopause.
Blending science with storytelling, the work shows how a century of women’s health data and insight can be translated into an emotionally engaging platform that is firmly grounded in science – with an emotive film, a frankly written website, and a mix of social and paid media delivered as part of a WPP integrated solution. Importantly for Bayer the website also invites action (not just awareness) as women are encouraged to question ‘normal’, share their stories and speak to a healthcare professional (HCP), while HCPs are prompted to look beyond ‘I’m fine’ and ask what sits behind it.
The scale of the challenge addressed by the campaign
The platform is rooted in established evidence:
- Over 1.5 billion women worldwide – almost one in two – experience women’s health issues, often accepting this suffering as normal
- Heavy menstrual bleeding affects one in three women at some point in their lives, but many have never discussed it with a doctor
- More than 20% of girls miss school or university because of period pain, which also affects relationships, functioning, and productivity
- Nearly half of all pregnancies – almost 121 million each year – are unintended
- Almost 80% of perimenopausal women report lower sexual desire, with impacts on relationships and self‑esteem.
Many women experience debilitating menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and sleep disturbance – and more than 50% of menopausal women globally are left to endure their symptoms without adequate support.
These realities sit against a backdrop where women’s health research and innovation remain underrepresented, and women spend significantly more of their lives in ill health than men.
Why this is relevant for International Day of Women and Girls in Science
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is about representation, opportunity and equity in science. WOMEN | Bayer and it’s ‘Anything but Normal’ adds a crucial dimension using scientific evidence about women’s health to challenge social and medical norms that have long been underpinned by data gaps and under‑representation. It demonstrates how science-informed communication can translate complex data into language and storytelling that women and girls can use in their everyday lives. And positions women not just as patients, but as experts in their own bodies, whose experiences deserve the same scientific attention and seriousness historically reserved for men.
Claire Gillis, CEO, VML Health adds: “Bayer’s 100-year heritage in women’s health provided a wealth of data to deliver the messages and information within this campaign, which I know will resonate with women around the world. Many of the health conditions women live with are anything but normal – or acceptable. This work is also about supporting healthcare professionals with insight and language that make it easier to look beyond ‘I’m fine’. We are privileged to partner with WOMEN | Bayer as we join forces in this journey of empowerment, demonstrating that great communication doesn’t just inform, it reauthorises behaviour and helps women reclaim their health.”
Find out more here.